Intra-osseous access (EZ-IO) for resuscitation: UK military combat experience.

Military trauma produces predominantly blast and fragmentation injury, commonly resulting in haemorrhagic shock. Injury patterns to limbs are such that the conventional sites for venous cannulation may be unsuitable. The EZ-IO (Vidacare, San Antonio) system is one of a number of novel products designed for intraosseous (IO) access in adults or children. In three months of combat casualty care in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, the UK Defence Medical Services used EZ-IO for emergency vascular access on 26 patients (16 adults; 10 children). 23/26 patients had IO access obtained in the emergency department; 3/26 had pre-hospital IO access within a tactically flying helicopter. A total of 32 needles were inserted, with 97% effective function. IO needles were used to administer fluid (crystalloid, packed red cells and fresh frozen plasma) and drugs (analgesics, cardiac arrest drugs, antibiotics, drugs for both rapid sequence induction and maintenance of anaesthesia). No complication of infection was noted, but pain was observed in responsive patients with the pain of infusion exceeding that of the underlying injuries in 3 cases.